


Breaking Point

by Rabbit (Majorminor2242)



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Best Friends, Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Forgiveness, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III & Toothless Friendship, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III Needs a Hug, Hurt Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, Hurt/Comfort, Protective Toothless (How to Train Your Dragon), Snoggletog (How to Train Your Dragon), Toothless is Always There for Hiccup
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-10
Updated: 2019-11-10
Packaged: 2021-01-06 02:00:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21218696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Majorminor2242/pseuds/Rabbit
Summary: It was hard for Hiccup to hide from Toothless' caring gaze, trusting eyes and comforting presence. It was hard for him to hide or lie to him. To try to pretend that everything was alright and that the bruises and scrapes didn't really hurt. The dragon was always good at seeing through his feeble attempts to avoid the pain he suffered, however with the one-way language barrier forced between the human and dragon, the best that Toothless could do was offer a flight in the starry skies, and then a hug in his wings to protect the boy from both the cold and dark. He refused to let Hiccup be drained of the joy that made him special, when thinking too much about his village or his own weaknesses.Oh how badly Toothless wanted to remind him of his strengths. Oh how desperately Toothless wanted to say that he was perfect the way he was. Oh how painful it was for the dragon, to be unable to ask that one question that lay on his tongue: 'But why are you unsafe to sleep in your own village?'Hiccup would dance around the truth, but scents lingered; so did marks.But maybe he doesn't need to speak for Hiccup to heal? Maybe, all he has to do… -all he's ever done…- is be there for his human when he needs him the most.





	Breaking Point

**Author's Note:**

> Anything italicized and quoted in ' :: ' at the beginning and end stands for dragon speech (which translates from grumbles, growls and the such)
> 
> Also, I've come up with my own draconic origin names such as Night Furies being referred to as 'NíoDýrs' (which means Night / Wild Beast together in Norse) as well as a 'true' name for Toothless: Artenyx (which is a cross between Artemis the Greek moon goddess and Nyx the Greek night goddess)
> 
> So to summarise:  
Artenyx = Toothless & NíoDýr = Night Fury in the Norse to Dragonese translation. Permission to use both terms is granted to anyone and everyone who wants to use either, but a little credit goes a long way ;)

Artenyx came to hate the nights that Hiccup would show up in the cove. He'd inevitably be sporting painful 'presents' from the other vikings, as well as puffy eyes and often also a puffy lip. He'd come. He'd cry into Toothless' soothing wing. He'd eventually fall asleep from both physical and mental exhaustion. Then it'd all repeat about a week or so later.

_:: Why don't you feel safe enough to sleep in your own village? :: _Toothless would always rumble and nudge, coaxing for an answer that would just never come.

Hiccup knew what was asked, even without understanding the rumbles emitted from the dragon, however he hardly answered and he never went into detail about his life in Berk. When he was emotional, it was purposefully vague; no names, no specifics.

He _knew _his dragon far too well.

Toothless would destroy the whole village in a single bast of purple in one night if Hiccup seemed even the slightest bit hurt and he knew exactly why. Hiccup was just worried all that would come to light and his word wouldn't be enough to stop the dragon. He knew that his dragon saw his pain, and it was obvious that the dragon hated doing nothing about it, however the least he could say with certainty was that after they became friends, they both had had a silent agreement to never kill or attack another without certainty first. Since if either had killed the other, they would have missed what could only be described as the strongest bond ever created between friends.

So, so long as Toothless wasn't fully certain of who it was that was hurting Hiccup, he knew that for the most part, his village would be safe -probably.

Of course, Hiccup also didn't credit the dragon enough for its intellect which easily rivalled his own. Artenyx knew the truth. He could always smell the same repetitive, vile stenches that coated Hiccup every time he came trudging into the cove. Scents that were now memorised by the dragon, who had every intention to deal equivalent harm towards the tormentors if he ever got the chance.

Tonight was another one of those nights. His ears twitched towards the rustling shrubbery above on the lip of the steep cove walls, and instinctually, he immediately slipped into the shadows and crevices lining the crag. Bright lime eyes squinted as irises as black as his night-like scales slit in breathless anticipation. He knew that it was almost definitely Hiccup that was slipping down the narrow path that lead to the only man-sized entrance to the cove, however it was always better to be safe rather than sorry. As Schrodinger would put it, _leaving a dragon in a box and expecting it to be the same dragon still there is nothing more than a presumption without physical evidence. You can't be sure of anything until it's proven,_ and so he would simply wait to see or hear Hiccup before making assumptions.

It was the only way he had stayed completely hidden from the Viking tribe that lived half an hour's trot away on this very island.

Thankfully, his necessary precautions proved to be unnecessary once again, as his eyes lay on the small boy tumbling into the snowy opening. However, he did not relax his tense muscles even slightly as he realised why his best friend was here.

Hiccup stumbled towards the still, frosted lake that lay peacefully in the centre of the cove. His eyes were puffy and wet, nose dribbling furiously, and his body trembled violently -and clearly not just from the biting cold in his state of undress for the winter.

But Artenyx knew what was going on. This had already become too common of a procedure than it should be. Slowly, he trotted up towards the boy, before wrapping his right wing around him gently.

_:: You know you're going to catch another one of those human colds again if you don't put some thicker furs on, Hiccup. :: _the dragon sighed to himself as the boy hugged his legs tighter as though he could understand him.

"S-sorry bud… I guess you were probably trying to sleep, weren't you? And I must have woken you up. _Again_. Gods I'm so useless, I keep forgetting to consider you in the equation whenever I get upset. I'm sorry. I should have thought it through."

_:: I'd rather spend my time with you here anyway, so don't worry. :: _At the sound of Toothless softly crooning, Hiccup sunk deeper into the embrace with a semi-content exhale, however that didn't last long before he shivered again, sneezed cutely and grumbled.

It was a couple seconds later that Toothless noticed his quiet heartbeat quicken under his skin and his breath hitch just slightly - telltale signs of Hiccup falling into another one of his panicked, self-depreciative states where he questions everything, including his self-worth.

"… Toothless…" he closed his eyes tightly before continuing. "W-why… why do you stay with me?"

Near-instantaneously the boy received a quick and sharp cuff to the head with a wing, and was about to complain until his teary gaze locked with the dragons. Lime green eyes bore holes into forest green orbs, tearing him apart inside with guilt at the look of offence and seriousness on Toothless' face.

Artenyx growled, but not threateningly, as he stared him down intensely, but Hiccup's internal self-loathing returned in full force before he could do any reassurance or damage control. "W-why? I'm serious. Why do you stay here with… with _me, Hiccup the Useless_ when you're a Night Fury. I already have designs drawn up for a tail-fin that you could control yourself with no effort! I- I just don't u-understand." his voice rose gradually under the strain in his head.

Toothless knew that it was wrong for Hiccup to have developed such a loss of self-worth. He knew his rider was haunted by demons in his mind, both consciously and subconsciously, and even though he did everything he could to fix the shattered ego of the boy, there was only so much he could improve before it all came crumbling down again like a brick wall under constant siege from catapults.

_:: Hiccup- :: _His soft croon was sliced through by the sound of gut-wrenching sobs coupled with breathless heaves.

Abruptly, startling Artenyx further, Hiccup exploded beneath him in a flurry of screams, "WHY?! You're a Night Fury! You're awesome! You could easily leave this place forever and fly beyond the horizon without ever needing to look back! You could explore the skies again, travel the world once more and you wouldn't have to feel _weighed down and reliant on me_ to do that! I don't know how, if EVER, the village will come to accept dragons as being more than mindless, demonic beasts since it's been a year since we first met but I'm no closer to changing anyones mind, but still you tie yourself down f-for me! I- I just don't understand! I'm **nothing** compared to you, or without you! I can't fly, nor can I breath fire. I'm not as black as night with near-impenetrable scales! I can't even do things the average human could like _hunt or fish_ without screwing up! I stumble, I trip, I constantly fall over myself and it's always _you_ that's picking me back up and catching me... But what have I done? I built you a tail. You can fly again now. Wow. Yay. _Hurrah._ I'm so proud I accomplished _soooo_ much by giving you back the flight that **_I_** took in the first place! And even then, you rely on a non-aerodynamic, hairless monkey to grant you the most important freedom to any dragon." his lungs hacked and spine shivered, but he refused to let even Toothless with his impressive, booming rumbles, dwarf his own. It was as though his own tone had power akin to the raging sea in a storm, or a tremor running throughout the Earth. "I just…** I just don't deserve you!"**

Toothless was left gobsmacked.

"I don't understand why you'd sacrifice _everything_ for- for _me_." Toothless reeled at the venomous contempt lacing the boy's pronouns. He spoke of himself as though he barely deserved any title beyond 'it', and he hated it. "You live cooped up in this cove like a natural cage, and unless I come, you can't even get out to stretch! You can't hunt in here either! All you can do is laze the day away until _I _can come and free you. And then all of a sudden, I'm flying up there in the sky's domain as though I belong with you up there! As though I **DESERVE **it! Don't you hate that? You're giving up your entire draconic nature all for me and it doesn't make the slightest logical sense! I'm USELESS! I'm _worthless_ within my own race and society, sitting right at the bottom of everything, but here you are in all your incredible glory, lowering yourself _right down here with me_ on this metaphorical ladder! Toothless, you're_ literally referred to _as the_ offspring of lightning and death itself! _You are quite literally the most incredible god-damn thing that exists_ in this world, _and yet you're hanging out with what basically equivocates to a_ walking, talking FISH-BONE! Doesn't that even slightly upset you?!"_

A thunderous slap resounded, echoing throughout the entirety of the cove. Birds flocked from trees under the rays of the moon, and everything silenced.

Hiccup raised a trembling hand up to his face, the pain of all the other bruises that littered his body from earlier that night forgotten as a searing pain that hurt more than anything you could imagine blossomed in his heart and burned his soul like fire. Ghostly eyes raised adjacent to the most hurt-filled expression he had ever seen displayed on the face of the closest being in his heart, and in that very moment, Hiccup felt his whole heart shatter as his only true family, his world, his _everything, _sat there emptily. Staring like a husk, with glossed eyes and a sorrowful expression that didn't belong on his _best friend's face._

Hiccup choked as his entire being fell limp like jelly that he just couldn't hold together."O-oh _god_\- oh gods I-I-I'm so sorry Toothless I'm sorry I shouldn't have-said- I really didn't- mean-" but all he received in retaliation was a livid snarl as the wing that had been so gently wrapped around him was retracted sharply and coldly.

Hiccup realised that it wasn't the cold chill from the temperature that made him shiver.

"N-no... _No! _Please, Toothless I'm sorry! Please forgive me! Bud I shouldn't have said all that please! You gotta-" The dragon bound to its feet like a predator, before instantly gliding over the lake to the other side of the cove. Back turned and ignorant of anything Hiccup had to say, Artenyx curled up to try and resume his nap from prior-Hiccup's appearance.

_Maybe he _should_ just take that blasted tail-fin and leave? When put like that, it sounded almost as though Hiccup only looked at him as some sort of loyal pet. A ride to the sky, but nothing more than a steed that he was responsible to feed and 'release from it's cage'._

No. No he can't look at it like that. _Hiccup is his best friend_, why was that so hard to understand? And why did Hiccup treat that reason as unacceptable of an answer to all of that…?_ Why doesn't he get that I would do anything for him because I know he'd do anything for me -and he does! He allowed me to fly again out of guilt from shooting me down (that conversation was a little rough when it was first admitted) but the main thing is…_

Is that <strike>Artenyx</strike> _Toothless_ already forgave him a long time ago.

Peeking over the tail that wrapped around him, Toothless -as he had come to adorn the name pridefully- glanced over towards where that had all happened minutes prior. His eyes rested on a broken looking shell of a boy, who had his back to the water and was closed tighter in on himself than you'd imagine possible.

_Okay... Perhaps I overreacted way too much there..._

Chilling tingles coursed through his bones, and even from so far away he could see the cracks running through the boy's soul. _His boy._ It was hard to always remember that whilst relatively speaking, he and Hiccup were about the same age for their respective species' lifespans, Hiccup was still a _child_. No matter how strong he was, no matter how resilient and caring and witty, Hiccup was still only fifteen _<strike>winters</strike> 'years'_ -that's what humans call it, right?- old. He had barely existed compared to Toothless' one-hundred and fifty -which was still somewhat meagre to most dragons (who quite often reach eight-hundred).

Slowly raising with new-found love for his practical step-brother, Toothless made his way back over to the other side of the lake. The only alert he gave of his presence was from the compressing snow between light, padded steps, and without any warning, Hiccup was bombarded with the most incredible sense of love and trust he had ever sensed as Toothless stood up wobbly on his hind legs and hugged the boy from behind, before curling his curtains of night-shade around them both.

Hiccup felt his heart squeeze in adoration for the one being he knew would always forgive him, and always love him until the end of eternity and longer. He didn't even _need_ to glance directly upwards to see the gentle, gummy smile resting suitably on the dragon's face, but of course he did anyway and wasn't disappointed. And with that, Hiccup felt a weight lift off of his back that seemed to reveal the truth of everything. All the answers he could ever ask for or ponder over where simultaneously revealed as he snuggled deeper into the embrace of the warm 𝕹ΐ𝓰h†fบr¥ behind him.

He felt the truthful words of love and loyalty run their course through his veins. He heard the unspoken promise to never leave his side. He saw the once foggy picture of just why <strike>Toothless</strike> _Artenyx_ stuck by him, and all he could do was softly cry as he hugged every part of that truth that enveloped him.

_:: I won't ever leave you Hiccup. Not for a mate, not for a nest, not for a clan nor even my brethren. YOU are my family, Hiccup, and I will always be yours -until the day we pass and forever longer in the realm of spirits. You are more incredible than you can see for yourself, and quite often it is _I_ who is the one that questions whether or not I deserve to stand by your side. So don't question your worthiness. Do not question my loyalty, for there is no-one on the rest of the planet that I'd rather spend my life with, alive or dead. Whether you realise it or not, you are more of a Night Fury than anyone deserves to be. Born as a human or not, you have a dragon's soul, and nothing can match it. I love you for you, Hiccup, and even if you don't want me to and you send me away on a separate path, I will always look over you and protect you till I die. ::_

Hiccup wasn't sure how he could feel the words that he longed so desperately to hear come from his closest companion, but he accepted it without difficulty as he buried himself under the warm grip of claws, wings and a tail as he realised that for the first time in his life, he wasn't afraid of going home again tonight in worry of getting beaten up, but rather that he'd much prefer to stay here for this is the only place where Toothless is. "I love you too, Artenyx, and no matter what, you will always be that special Toothless to me."


End file.
